kate spade inspired diy dachshund dish set

In case this hasn’t come up already, my mom is a HUGE dachshund lover. If you don’t know what that means, dachshunds are the most adorable, ridiculous, insanely popular dog breed otherwise known as “wiener dogs”. I want to make sure that I illustrate her obsession accurately, so here’s some background information. We’ll call it “5 Things To Know About Trace”.

She grew up on a farm, and therefore has no realistic outlook on the appropriate number of household pets for a typical domestic family.

She’s the president of the Canadian Dachshund Rescue, a charity that rescues abandoned or abused dachshunds, fosters and rehabilitates them, and then rehomes them with new families.

One time we had 13 wiener dogs at our house. Because she was fostering that many. Because she can’t say no.

She collects anything with wiener dogs on it. It’s like you go into an old woman’s house and they have weird knickknacks and you don’t know what anything is actually used for, except mom’s have WIENER DOGS ON THEM. Or puns (often inappropriate) about wieners. IN OUR HOUSE.

She’s insane.

One good thing about it is that it’s made shopping for gifts relatively easy, because as long as it has a dachshund on it we’re pretty much golden. But after years of salt shakers, oven mitts, dishtowels, a butter dish (Brad…?), blankets, questionable art, weather vanes, and – most recently – an address sign, we’ve kind of hit the bottom of the barrel. And my stepdad started threatening us. SO, this year for Mother’s Day, I made the ultimate finale in dachshund memorabilia, inspired by these Kate Spade dishes:

I added a little personal touch for mom’s kitchen. It was so easy, you could make your own dishes with whatever YOU obsess over (they’re popular with pets too…)

Here’s what you need:

Sharpie markers (the oil kind) – *Tip: the best way to seal in your design is to bake it, although people SAY Sharpie oils are okay without baking, and not all colours stand up to the oven. If you go the baking route, try to stick to neutral colours, like metallics and black*

plain plate set (I got this one at Canadian Tire on sale for about $20)

First, wipe down your plates with rubbing alcohol or a Lysol wipe. Some people recommend using rubber gloves as well. The idea is to limit the amount of oils you get on the dishes, so that the marker has a better chance of adhering. While that dries, you can make your stencil. We used our Cricut, but you can easily cut out your design as well. I recommend using vinyl paper because it will adhere to your dishes over and over again, so you have a tight seal without the fuss of tape.

Once you know how you want your design to look, attach your stencil. Smooth out any bumps or bubbles. Use wash tape to make guidelines if you want your design to be straight. You can line up the natural straight line of your vinyl with the tape each time for a perfect line! Make sure you shake the Sharpies well before using them, and press down on the tip to get the ink flowing. You may have to give it a good shake if you find your flow starts to dry out now and then. Carefully outline your shape and fill in the middle. Let it dry for a couple minutes before peeling away your vinyl. If you have any smudges you can clean them up with a toothpick, or your fingernail. The best part about the Sharpies is that as long as you get them in the first few hours you can remove the entire design (use a Magic Eraser for big mistakes!).

Let your plates sit for a couple days before using. I didn’t bake these because (I learned the hard way) that the red turns a deep purple in the oven and my mom’s kitchen is black and red. I tried removing the design with a Magic Eraser and some intense pressure a couple days after finishing and I couldn’t get the design to even smudge, so unless you’re a pro-wrestler (or maybe a dishwasher) you’re design is pretty permanent without baking. I’d suggest you hand wash only though, just in case.

And that’s it. Aren’t they sweet? She was so happy when she saw them, she’s already shown them off to her entire rescue group and has threatened suggested we might get orders they’ve been so popular!